Review: Isolert – No Hope, No Light…Only Death

How do I begin to describe this amazing album? I struggle with this one, it’s such a fantastic piece of art, by the Greek black metal band Isolert. From the get-go this quality is present, with the first track, “Intro- Doomed”, where a range of different melodies come together to create a somewhat eerie, mysterious, and majestic sound. For me that is what an intro is all about, building the rest of the album up, and this intro does just that.

Now I move on to the rest of the album, which by the second the track “Your Hypocrisy” starts, has already made its catchiness known to the listener. This follows through with every other single track on the album, an album I cannot help but happily sink my teeth into. There is so much going on with this album, I am struggling to figure out where to begin. The raw power and emotion with so many dynamics to it is just flawless in every way. May it be from the screeching vocals to the more subtle whispers of the vocals, fitting with the eerie sound (of that from the intro). Also what strikes me with this album is the influences behind it. These influences range from something of a raw black metal sound, to even more Behemoth sounding influences. Then even on “Empty Memory (Hate for Mankind)”, some what sounds like punk influences in the vocals, which just makes the album sound even more intriguing and brilliant.

Moving on to the battery powering the music behind the vocals, beautiful and heavy melodies spew forth which again are just so catchy. They allow the listener to really appreciate every single drum beat and guitar riff, which provides the most melodic and defining music I have ever listened to. Every single track on this album is easy to get into, and will have you headbanging like a madman in no time. If it doesn’t well, something is certainly wrong with you, considering the passion and emotion that has been poured into every element of each track. This for me creates such a raw power that just makes you want to so much more.

This album just does not stop giving especially with “The Dance of Tormented Spirits”, where the atmosphere completely changes. The atmosphere becomes darker and really pulls the listener in, with the melodies at the start of the track almost giving off some depressive vibes. Mixed with a range of clean and screeching vocals to give a heavy atmosphere. No Hope, No Light…Only Death is an album that is explosive, filled with so much, that makes you crave for more. I have never heard an album that is so dynamically diverse yet with everything on the album coming together so well.